Fix bad floppy disks in seconds
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- Опубліковано 6 вер 2024
- I could only format about 1 out of 10 floppies I was pulling out of my collection until I stumbled across this trick that I had to share with the world. I've had a 50% plus success rate fixing disks that I otherwise would have thrown away.
1. You don't need an electromagnet. This should do the trick:
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2. Check old disks for mold and mildew before putting them in your drive.
3. Don't magnetize stuff that shouldn't be magnetized.
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My totally-non-supported-wild-guess theory is that the disk has trouble because the part of the disk just at the edge of the tracks has "data", which doesn't get overwritten by the heads when formatting but is just strong enough to affect reading -- possibly because the drive heads are slightly off alignment from the last drive that was writing to it. This is similar to why writing to a disk that was previously written with a double-density drive (larger heads) doesn't always work if you write new data to it in a high-density drive (the skinny heads only rewrite part of the data, the old data is still there next to the skinnier track and affects reading, especially if you put it back in a double-density with the wider head). Using a demagnetizer randomizes the particles again so there's no strong "0" or "1" signal to interfere with reading. So I always demagnetize a vintage disk before using it since I don't know what kind of drive or track formatting was used on it previously. Basically getting it back to "factory fresh".
I think you are exactly right. I pinned this comment. Thanks for the awesome feedback.
Useful tip! We should always remember to inspect these old floppies and only use mold-free ones. Whenever drive heads touch the first mold-contaminated floppy, they get dirty and "sandpaper" any other following floppy, good or not. Stop using the drive whenever a high pitched noise is noticed from it and give it a good head cleaning.
Both Windows 10 and Windows 11 read any non-USB floppy drive: 5¼ DD, 5¼ HD or 3½ HD. However, they can only format 3½ HD. Curiously, their CMDs actually format them all properly.
Hi, I would avoid using the DOS format command. (From later versions of DOS.) The way it tries to determine if it's a high density or double density disk is flawed.
If the disk has been used before, especially on a Mac or other non DOS system, it can error out like you show. Using a 3.5" USB drive on Windows 10/11 also has similar issues where it will fail formatting if the disk has been used in another non-DOS system.
DOS utilities like FORMATQM and NFORMAT have no issues because they don't attempt to read the disk first and would have certainly formatted those disks without any issue. Also, it would accurately describe any bad sectors on the media to help you determine if you should keep or throw away the disk. (I personally have a zero bad sector tolerance on floppies as some bad sectors usually means more are coming.)
Floppy drives have an electromagnet erase head that clears the track before writing, just like a cassette recorder.
The only time a bulk erase can be helpful is when trying to use a 360k disk in a 1.2mb drive -- since the 96TPI heads (and erase head) in a 1.2mb drive are narrower, there can be leftover signal if the disk was written previously using a 48TPI drive. Typically, the issue arises when a non-bulk erased 360k disk was first written in a 360k drive, then written again in a 1.2mb drive and then read again in a 360k drive. The 48TPI heads can pick up the original signal that the 1.2mb drive didn't erase, meaning the 360k drive could see the newly written information and the original data at the same time.
Hey... first of all, I'm a huge fan. I watch every one of your videos. Thanks for the awesome information. I will try some of those other utils. I do remember using other format tools back in the day. Looking forward to trying these.
Adrian, I believe you are slightly incorrect, floppy drives don't have erase heads in the same way that tape recorders do, but instead have a pair of tunnel erase heads that FOLLOW the writing of the data track. See paragraph 9 of the Technical Introduction here: retrotechnology.com/herbs_stuff/drive.html And page 9 of jsobola.atari8.info/dereatari/literatdere/1050fsm.pdf
@@Brian_Of_Melbourne yeah indeed! Seems two types exist but both just overwrite the track without erasing and then on the Atari and SA400 it just trims the edges by erasing that to create two guard bands. Fascinating, I had read the SA400 manual before but forgot this. Either way there is still no practical reason to degauss a disk first unless possibly it was used in a different head thickness drive.
I've actually repaired bad sectors on a handful of floppies by running `ddrescue` in reverse mode. It would just fail every time, then read completely fine after one run in reverse. This only worked on a handful out of a bucketful of them, though
I need to try that. I definitely remember hearing about that program. Thanks for the tip.
Me too
Appreciate the time you took to make this. My drive isn’t working and I need to do something about it.
Yeah let me just grab my electromagnetism device that is definitely thrown in my home somewhere
Bruh
Help my designer 1 sewing machine will not read the floppy what can i do?
I had more fundamental problems that were more related to using modern PCs
Turns out that:
1) You can't format using a standard USB floppy. IOCTL only works with standard floppy controllers and it fails. You can use a command in Linux however
2) At least on my gen 1 i7 (my last motherboard with a real floppy port), Windows sucks at writing/formatting floppies using a normal drive. I don't know why, it just struggles, even downgrading to Windows 7, using 3 different perfect-condition drives I have, using NOS disks etc. It grinds, the heads make a weird sound in a "tak tak.. tak-tak-tak-tak" pattern and often fails. FreeDOS however has no problem, on the same PC on the same disk and same drive. And I can also format them in Windows using an LS-120 drive. And Windows can READ using the normal floppy just fine.
Just something else to consider if anyone is struggling to format floppies.
Other than for the occasional write, I've basically given up on usb floppy drives and modern versions of windows for dealing with floppies. I've actually built an old PC just for writing them.
Thanks for this awesome info.
I use a round strong magnet sloped from a microwave oven. Yes it works, move the magnet in a circle on both sides and you can format the full capacity. Sector 0 isn't fixed and that is still my problem with those 5.25" floppy.
Oh man that dos formatting error message brings back memories, interesting video. Think I have a working usb floppy drive still somehwere
Yeah. I hated to throw away disks. I'm glad they can be used for something
OK, they ARE making new ones. Some commercial stuff still needs them. They are NOT cheep.
DUDE TYSM REALLY I WERE TRYING TO FIX A FLOPPY DISK AND THEN I SAW YOUR VIDEOS TYSM DUDE
Awesome! Glad it was helpful!
I would temporarily remove the stainless steel protector and the spring to gutter the whole disk.
That's a good call. If I get a stubborn one I will try that. It can't hurt.
I've found using a magnet from the inside of a dead 3.5" hard disk does this same thing.
I was actually wondering that. Good to know.
Would magnitizing the floppy disc work of the disc contains music.
Sure
How do I retrieve what's on my floppy desk ?
If you don't have a computer that can read it directly, there is a board called the grease weasel that allows you to recover imagin
Shame that won't work to recover data. Still cool if it can refresh them for new uses.
Yeah I do actually have devices that will read the magnetic flux on drives and try to reassemble them. But that still doesn't make the discusable when you're done. Greaseweazle is a very cool tool for floppy data recovery
@@AnotherMaker Have a tool to crack the forgotten password of a zip disk? Asking for a friend.
I’ll have to try that. I have so many old ones
I've saved a fair amount that way.
So here is my problem, I purchased the same radio shack Tape Eraser and tried it on some disks that formatted OK but had some bad sectors, Every Single Disk I used this on I could no longer format because I was getting the Bad Track 0 after using this device.
I recommend using a program other than dos format to format the disks. I think Adrian's digital basement recommended a few in the comments here.
If you turn the eraser switch off while it's right next to the disk, you can induce a huge magnetic spike in it. Ages ago in radio we would erase magnetic tapes by turning the eraser on, bringing the tape to the eraser, then pulling the tape a arms length away from it before switching it off. Try something like that with your floppies and see if that might be the trouble.
It worked for me but I didn’t have a magnet so I used a guitar pickup
That's awesome. Good to know there are alternatives. Guessing a big speaker would work too.
woohoo i got my floppy disks working again👍👍👍👍👍👍👍
Watch your duty cycle with that degausser, they can overheat.
Good call. I need to check that out. I have been doing them one at a time. I also have a big magnetic door lock on my bathroom that I just stick them to
Bro!! Thank you!!
Awesome. Glad it was helpful!
I have some blank floppies i would be happy to send your way!
I would absolutely love that! I would put them to good use. My contact information is in the channel info
this won't work for me. I have floppy discs for an Ensoniq sampler. Some tracks won't load because "disk data corrupted". If anyone knows a fix for this holla back.
there is a product called the greaseweazle that will let you read the "flux" of the floppy disk and from there you may be able to recover/repair it. That board is cheap and has a great community.
www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2380057.m570.l1313&_nkw=greaseweazle&_sacat=0 that
@@AnotherMaker alright. Thank you. I'll have to look into that. Looks like I have to solder it onto my sampler somewhere.
Trying to get my asrx to read these disks! 0 for 40 so far 😫😫
If your disks are of factory or retail variety you could always try rewriting onto fresh media, I know the mirage has all the factory disks and more on internet archive.
@@dav1dbone thanks for your answer but what I mean is that I formatted disks on the ensoniq, not that the disks were from ensoniq. I loaded my own samples and sequences on them.
I liked the fix; but wasn't that a demagnetizer you used on the floppy?
No. It was just a big electromagnet.
@@AnotherMaker So it wasn't an AC field but a DC magnetic field?
@@pixelpatter01 Pretty sure it was a demagnetiser. Else it wouldn't have buzzed, would it? And the floppies would be strongly magnetised to the point that the drive couldn't erase them. And you wouldn't have been able to move the disk around like that, because it would be stuck to the magic magnet box. This youtuber doesn't know what he's talking about.
Demagnetizing is fine and all, but Magnetizing like that wouls also magnetize the bracket. DON'T do that!!
😄😆😅😂🤣🐑
Lol